well my friend is looking to buy a new car soo i took him over to the local mitsu dealership to take a look at the new 08 lancer and hes in love . the one we looked at was a fully loaded black gts with sun and sound package, navi, the "smart key" system, and the whole 9 yards...i have to admit the car is nice. the guy took us out for a test drive and instead of my friend taking a go at it he let me (cause its my birthday ) soo i took it for a spin down some really windy roads and a few straightaways and i have to admit the cars got some kick to it...first off im going to say i dont think i could do the whole paddle shifting bit because i was constantly looking for a clutch when there was none and on top of that i kept panicing at every stop thinking i was going to stall. now you can also use the automatic shift knob to shift up and down by tapping up and down while its in the "manual" drive position. forgot it was there soo i didnt get to try it out. the car handles great and it stops on a dime especially with the paddle shifters but i dont like the steering wheel too much...i think its too cluttered for the way i drive. another thing about the paddle shifters that i do like however, is the fact that there is no lag time inbetween gears whatsoever AND the rpms stay above 4500 after each shift and he said that the mivec kicks in higher in the rpms in the gts model soo its a plus that they stay that high after each shift i suppose. another thing i didnt like too much was the gauge cluster...there are the two "domes" one for rpms and the other for mph and inbetween them is a digital display that shows everything else including the gear youre in. i found that to be a bit of a pain because at times it was difficult to see which gear you were in unless you really looked (couldnt tell at a glance). i must say that the cound system kicks *** and the navi is sick. the car is FULL of technology, it comes standard with blue tooth technology so you can use your phone through the cars entertainment system and by voice...soo no need to touch your phone while driving. and the smart key system is awsome..you leave the key in your pocket and when you get out of the car you push a little button on the handle to look the car. when you get within 3/4 feet of the car, to get in all you do is keep the key in your pocket and put your hand on the handle for a quick second and youll hear a beep and you can open the car, and THEN you can start the car with the key still in your pocket...all you do is turn the key slot on the side of the steering column. with all this and a bit more for an estimate of $22,000.

overall, i think its a pretty good car, looks nice, drives smooth. downside, paddle shifters are something you need to get used to (gotta have both hands on the wheel constantly).

OH and p.s. - talk about engine room...the relocated the headers towards the back of the engine bay, not the front and there is a TON of room back there, for something say like a HUGE turbo perhaps .

 

mods please edit the title...its the 08 NOT 07...sry

 

^Yeah, I noticed that too when I cracked the hood on the lancer at the dealership! Would be a great platform to base a mid-grade Lancer (Ralliart) with AWD and turbo!

 

well i was talking to the guy and we thought about how mitsu isnt going to launch the RA until after the Evo because they dont want to take sales away from the Evo considering the RA will be turboed as well...theyre afraid that if people see they can spend less and get a turboed RA why would they spend more and get the Evo. or atleast thats what the guy at the dealership was saying